A boost converter, boosting circuit, or step-up converter is generally a direct current (DC)-to-DC power converter that includes an output voltage greater than its input voltage. Often a boosting circuit is a class of switched-mode power supply (SMPS) that includes at least two semiconductors (a diode and a transistor) and at least one energy storage element, a capacitor, inductor, or the two in combination. Filters made of capacitors (sometimes in combination with inductors) are normally added to the output of the converter to reduce output voltage ripple.
Boost circuits are often used for low-voltage operations where performance advantages can be obtained by temporarily boosting the voltage of a specific circuit above that of the normal power supply. These types of boosting circuits are particularly useful in memory arrays. For example during read operations, boosting the read word-line above the available supply voltage may result in improved clock to output times. In another example involving write operations, boosting the voltage of the write word-line above the available supply voltage may results in a better write-ability of the bit-cell. By temporarily boosting the voltage of the memory circuit (or at least the word-line thereof), the memory circuit can operate during normal operation at a reduced or lowered voltage.